


A Small Celebration

by afteriwake



Series: A Little Holmes [6]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-03
Updated: 2012-07-03
Packaged: 2017-11-09 03:20:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/450677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was John’s idea to have the party, and Sherlock was fine with that, but by the end of the evening he was going to start questioning a few things, and he didn’t like <i>that</i> very much.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Small Celebration

**Author's Note:**

> I have been up for twenty-six hours straight and I just started to feel tired, so I apologize if the ending meanders.

He had his arm in a sling and was told not to use it until his shoulder healed. Lestrade had offered to take Abigail home but Sherlock vehemently disagreed, and so the both of them went to the hospital and were there until close to two in the morning. John was already there with Molly, who did in fact have a broken arm and needed stitches. John watched Abigail while the doctors got the bullet out of his shoulder, and then after making sure Molly got home safely they went back to 221 B Baker street. Abigail was sound asleep and John started to put her in the crib but Sherlock told him to put her on the bed instead. He fell asleep shortly afterwards. He was fairly sure John had a picture on his phone of the two of them sleeping next to each other.

It put a damper on the things he could do since he was right-handed, and he had to step back from doing things with Abigail because she squirmed too much for him to hold with just his left hand and arm. Mrs. Hudson and John were lifesavers in that regard, stepping in and taking care of her when he couldn’t. He didn’t know what he would have done without either of them.

Mycroft came late in the afternoon, not too long after Sherlock woke up. He said that the incident with Moriarty was being swept under the rug, and only the two kidnappers were being tried. No one asked Sherlock for his version of events, and he thought that even if he had killed Moriarty in cold blood none of his friends would have thought any differently of him. Friends. John, Mrs. Hudson, Molly and even Lestrade…he considered them his friends now. 

John had the idea to have the party. Nothing fancy, sort of like Christmas, only maybe everyone would be nicer and they’d celebrate the fact that Abigail was found and safely home. Mrs. Hudson thought it sounded like a wonderful idea, and Sherlock couldn’t find any real fault in it either. Lestrade said he’d stop by for a bit, and Molly said she’d come over.

Molly got there first, and she was dressed in a nice dress. She was on sabbatical from her job since she couldn’t work with her arm broken in two places and a plaster cast up to her shoulder. Mrs. Hudson had fussed over her, but she pointed out it wasn’t her dominant arm that got broken and she could manage decently. She asked John and Mrs. Hudson to sign her cast, and Sherlock promised to do it as soon as he could get out of the sling.

John cooked for everyone, and Lestrade showed up with his new girlfriend briefly to share a drink with everyone, but he and his girlfriend were expected at the home of his girlfriend’s boss and they couldn’t stay too long. But he even held Abigail and told her she was a brave little girl. Sherlock could see that his girlfriend was looking at him with a look on her face that said she wished they could have a child that young. He imagined the discussion would be interesting.

Soon the food was eaten and they were all in the sitting room talking. Abigail was in the bassinet sleeping and Sherlock sat close to her. Eventually the topic turned to the events at the pool, and Sherlock gave them a brief rundown on what had happened.

“I went to the morgue to see for myself,” Molly said with a sigh. “I can’t believe he fooled me.”

“There, there, dear, it happens to the best of us,” Mrs. Hudson said. “My second husband was a con man. Almost had me completely fooled.”

“I never knew that,” Sherlock said, surprised.

“Oh yes. He married women for their money. But my mother and father taught me well. He didn’t get a dime out of me, and I helped get him arrested for doing it to other women. Divorced him while he was in jail.”

John chuckled. “You’ve led a remarkable life, haven’t you?”

“I’ll admit the spice has come back into it since the two of you began living here,” she said with a smile. “The things that have happened since you boys were here…I swear, sometimes I’m not sure whether I should renew your lease or not, but then I realize I’d miss you.”

“That is a rather nice sentiment,” Sherlock said with a nod. “Thank you.”

“Well, it’s the truth.” She looked at them, and then glanced at her wrist. “I think it is time for me to call it a night,” she said as she stood up. “Good night, everyone.”

“Good night,” John called out, and Molly said good night as well. She left, and the three of them looked at each other. “I’m not quite sure what else to do tonight,” John said after a moment.

“It does still feel early,” Molly said. “And since I can’t work, it’s not as if I need to get up early tomorrow morning.”

“I follow her schedule,” Sherlock said, nodding to Abigail. “Which means I shall be awakened no later than five in the morning. If I am incredibly lucky I can get her to go back to sleep for at least another hour.”

“Do you want to go to sleep too?” John asked.

“No, but it might be best if you put her in the crib now, in case I stay awake after you retire for the night,” he said.

“I’ll be right back, then,’ he replied. He picked up the sleeping infant and carried her out of the room.

“She’s so big,” Molly said. “It seems like it wasn’t that long ago that she was tiny.”

“I know,” he said. “It’s strange to see it sometimes. We don’t pay much attention to our own growing up, I suppose, so we watch it in our children and marvel at it then.”

“I think you’re a terrific father,” she said. “And you’ve changed because of her, in so many good ways. I actually feel comfortable around you now.”

“That’s good to know,” he said with a small grin. “I’ve been trying very hard to just be nicer in general.”

“It shows,” she said, giving him a smile back. Then she looked down. “Since it’s just us here, I wanted to apologize for kissing you. I just don’t know what came over me.”

“No need to apologize. Actually, it had been a rather long time since I had been kissed.”

“You didn’t…?” she asked, looking at him again. “With Abigail’s mother?”

He shook his head. “If she had kissed me I would have stopped what we were doing. It was one of the rules.”

“Oh,” she said. “So why is it okay that I kissed you?”

“I’m not quite sure,” he said. “I think if she had kissed me it would have changed the rules, and I wouldn’t have gotten what I needed from that night. And I don’t think she cared about me that way. I know that at least you care about me. You wouldn’t kiss me to hurt me. She might have.”

“Sometimes you strike me as a very strange man,” she said. “I just find I’m more interested than scared off.”

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me,” he said quietly.

“It’s okay, though. I’m willing to learn.” She looked at him intently, and he looked back at her. Just as he was going to speak, though, John came back, and this was a conversation that was best kept between them. “Did she stay asleep?” Molly asked brightly, turning her attention to John.

He nodded. “Didn’t really move around that much.”

“I can’t wait till I get out of this cast so I can hold her again,” she said wistfully.

“I’m just glad the only damage was a broken arm and a gash,” Sherlock said. “It could have been worse.”

“Believe me, I know,” she said, and he could see she was suppressing a shudder. “But with…him…gone, hopefully things will calm down. No more surprise attacks or kidnappings.”

“I’m hoping,” Sherlock said. “But I don’t know how extensive his criminal empire went. If I could have spared him for more information I would have. But he would have found a way to weasel out of it. I can tell.” He looked down. “My daughter was more important than information.”

“Yeah, we know. We all would have done the same thing,” John said with a nod. “So I suppose we just wait and see now.”

“I suppose so,” he replied. They chatted for another hour before John decided it was time for him to go to sleep. Sherlock looked at Molly. “Perhaps I should probably go to sleep as well,” he said after a moment.

She nodded. “Yeah. It is late, and you’ll be up early.” She stood up, setting her glass on the table, and she went to go get her jacket. She struggled with it for a moment before giving a defeated sigh. “Guess I just get to brave the cold.”

“Here,” he said, moving over to her. He slipped his arm out of the sling.

“You’re not supposed to do that,” she said.

“I don’t want you to get cold.” He draped the jacket over her shoulders, and she used her free hand to pull one side tight against her. “How did you manage to get it on in the first place?” he asked with an amused smile.

“Contortion,” she replied.

He chuckled slightly. “I’ll walk you outside.” They moved out of the common room and he opened the front door for her. They stepped out and he walked her to her car. “I’m glad you came tonight.”

“I am too,” she said with a smile. “It was nice.” She got her keys out of her purse and paused for a moment, then leaned up and kissed his cheek. “Good night, Sherlock.”

“Good night, Molly,” he said. He watched her get into her car and drive off, and wondered why he felt such an odd sense of disappointment. But he shook his head and went back inside his home, where he got ready for bed. He laid down and shut his eyes but sleep didn’t come fast enough, leaving him with thoughts he didn’t want to think about a certain friend and her place in his life. When sleep finally claimed him he was glad for it.


End file.
